Halfway!

On Saturday I passed the halfway point! It's hard to believe I've come all this way. The early days in Georgia and North Carolina seem like they were years ago, and also like they were yesterday. Strange how time works. After leaving the Bears Den on Tuesday, I walked the 20 miles into Harpers Ferry. It was bittersweet, since I had just spent my birthday there a few days earlier with my girlfriend Mckenzie, who had since gone back home. On Wednesday I crossed into Maryland, which was some of the smoothest trail I've seen yet. Great shelters too. Unfortunately, there is only 42 miles of trail in Maryland, so the smooth sailing only lasted a couple of days. I crossed the Mason-Dixon line on Thursday and officially left the South behind! On Saturday I arrived in Boiling Springs, PA and stayed in a nice retreat center called the Allenberry. Yesterday the weather was beautiful, perfect for a 25 mile day into Duncannon, PA. I stayed at a legendary hiker destination, the Doyle Hotel. The Doyle is old, old, with lots of character and is very hiker friendly. After a huge plate of jambalaya for dinner, I was ready for a great night's sleep in a warm bed! Today the rocks start- northern Pennsylvania is notorious for its rocks. Thankfully it will be over in about a week!

Harpers Ferry!

Sorry for the long break between posts! A lot has happened since our long day into Waynesboro. After the forty mile day, we spent the night in a motel in Waynesboro with several other hiker friends. We attempted to sleep in the next morning, but were up by 8:30 am. The same trail angel who shuttled us into town at 9:30 PM the night before had offered to take us back to the trail at around 1:00 PM the next day, so we had some time to relax. We had a leisurely breakfast at a local diner, and watched TV at the motel until our ride arrived. I had my eye on Harpers Ferry, so I decided to push a 20 mile day even though I didn't get started until almost 2:00. Worse, the temperature that day was in the low 80s and I was not acclimatized to heat yet. I pushed myself to maintain an almost 4 mph pace to get into a shelter just after sunset, and felt completely spent for the effort. The next day, my second in Shenandoah National Park, I had planned to do another big mile day, but 80 degree temperatures and a lack of recovery from the forty mile marathon a few days before had me crashing early and pulling into a shelter after only 13 miles. I went to sleep at 7:00 that evening and slept 13 hours. I finally felt recovered the next day and was able to put in some good miles and struck camp on top of Bearfence Mountain with a great view. The next morning I woke up to rain and cold temperatures, and neither let up for the entire 26 miles I needed to hike that day. I was soaked to the bone and freezing from sunup to sundown. It was only my second day of rain in over 50 days of hiking, but it was still one of the toughest days on the trail yet. The next day was thankfully clear and dry for a long 32 mile day out of the Shenandoah and just past Front Royal, VA. The next day, Friday the 20th, I was meeting Mckenzie, my girlfriend, about 20 miles south of Harpers Ferry at a place called the Bears Den Hostel. I was up at 4:45 am on Friday morning and on the trail by sunrise to get an early start on a 28 mile day. After some rocky ups and downs late in the hike, I rolled into Bears Den at around 5 pm to meet Mckenzie. We made the short drive into Harpers Ferry, where we would be staying in a B&B Friday and Saturday nights. Harpers Ferry surprised us both! It was a charming little town with lots of history, overlooking a magnificent vista where the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers converge. We had a wonderful time and my legs very much enjoyed the time off the trail. Mckenzie dropped me off back at the Bears Den on Sunday afternoon and I stayed for the night. When I woke up to snow the next morning, I decided to take a third zero instead of hiking in the cold and rain/snow. I spent the entire day reading by a roaring fire - much better! Tomorrow I will hike into Harpers Ferry, sign the register at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters there, and probably move on to the next shelter. My next goal: get to New York City by May 12. 440 miles!

Forty mile day!

Taking two days off in Lynchburg must have left me pretty well rested, because a hiker buddy, Zoso, and I felt good enough to put in forty miles yesterday! We stayed at Dutch Haus B&B night before last, and arranged with them to help us do a 25 mile slack pack yesterday which involved a 3,000 foot descent, and then another 3,000 foot ascent right back up. We had our packs dropped off to us after the 25 miles at about 4:30 and were still feeling pretty good. It was only 14 more miles to Waynesboro, where some of our friends were, so we decided to push on. We got into town at about 9:30 pm! Next up is Shenandoah National Park, and then Harpers Ferry! It's about 150 miles, and I'm going to try and be there by the 20th. It will be a long couple of days!

Videos from our bluegrass concert!

A much needed break!

A few days after Daleville, a family friend who lives in Lynchburg picked me up at US 501 near Big Island, VA after a 20 mile day and brought me back to their home to have dinner with them and stay the night. It was amazing! I was really feeling worn out the past few days, and it was wonderful to have a comfortable bed to sleep in. The next day I had planned on hiking another 20 miles and having my parents pick me up, but I woke up still feeling run down so I decided to take an impromptu rest day even though I had been planning to take a rest day the next day with my parents. I spent some time taking care of medical school business on the internet, soaking in the hot tub, and reading. Then, in the afternoon, Lisa (my host) told me she had set up a massage appointment for me! What a treat; my legs definitely appreciated the attention! I met my parents that evening, and Lisa brought out her bluegrass band to play for us. Talk about trail magic! The next day we drove to Appomattox Court House, where Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S. Grant to end the Civil War. Very cool history to visit! That evening we had dinner in a really cool restaurant in downtown Lynchburg in a renovated tobacco warehouse. Lisa offered to pick me up again after hiking 23 miles today, so I have a warm bed and a wonderful dinner to look forward to again tonight! I have been incredibly lucky with such gracious and hospitable hosts on the trail thus far, but Lisa and her husband Robert really have set the bar high! They have been unbelievably kind and generous. Only eight days to Harpers Ferry, WV! Harpers Ferry is regarded as the mental halfway point on the trail by most hikers, even though the actual halfway point is about three days north. I can't wait to get there!

Daleville, VA

Yesterday, after forty days on the trail without getting rained on, it rained. It rained all day long, for 23 miles, and it was cold. On top of that, it was a very tough stretch of trail with several climbs and lots and lots of rocks. Definitely a low point for my morale. I did have something to look forward to at the end of the day though: the Homeplace restaurant in Catawba, VA serving all you can eat comfort food, family style. I met several other hikers there, and we ate some serious quantities of food. Today the weather was incredibly beautiful, with highs in the upper sixties and clear skies. I went over McAffee Knob, one of the most photographed spots on the AT, as well as the Tinker Cliffs. Both were amazing! I got into Daleville by about 4:30 and headed to the outfitter to replace a broken trekking pole. I left behind the group that I had been hiking with today, so I'll be hiking solo until I see my parents on the 10th. Besides the great weather, I've also been enjoying the advent of spring! Each day the forest gets a little greener as more and more plants start to put out little green shoots. It's a much welcome change from the brown, cold woods of Georgia in February.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who has been leaving comments on the blog! I've been reading all of them but probably won't have a chance to comment on each one. Thank you for the words of support!!

Pearisburg, VA

After a few days on the trail after Burke's Garden we arrived in Pearisburg. We had some awesome views coming off a ridge line into town, and were in for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We spent the rest of the day off our feet and everyone went out to a big dinner that evening. The next day we did a "slackpack" which means we had a shuttle driver drive us up the trail 27 miles, and we did that stretch of trail backwards without packs and ended in Pearisburg. We had an awesome BBQ dinner last night and enjoyed another night of sleeping in a motel, which is always nice!